Stethoscope with rotatable bell



July 18, 1950 w. J. RATZAN 2,515,471

STETHOSCOPE WITH ROTATABLE BELL Filed Jam-21, 1949 A TTOE/VE K Patented July 18, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFF lCEf STETHOSCOPE WITH ROTATABLE BELL Wilford J. Ratzan, New York, N. Y. v

Application January 21, 1949, Serial No. 71,867

4 Claims. 1

This invention relates to an obstetrical stethoscope with rotatable bell for listening to the fetal heartbeat.

The administration of caudal analgesia in obstetrical cases requires that the patient lie in lateral Sims position. In this position, approximately half of the lateral aspect of the patients abdomen faces, and is almost in contact with, the bed on which the patient lies. All available stethoscopic instruments designed for listening to the fetal heartbeat are provided with fixed, rigid diaphragm housings which cannot be applied to that section of the abdomen which faces the bed. By sheer force of-necessity, therefore, many obstetricians refrain even from attempting to listen to the fetal heartbeat when the patient is in labor with caudal analgesia. Accurate information regarding the state of the fetus is accordingly unavailable.

The stethoscopic instrument comprising the present invention is provided with a diaphragm housing which is adapted to swivel an angular distance of well over 300. This swivelling feature renders it a very simple matter to apply the diaphragm housing to any part of the patients abdomen, including those parts which lie closest to the bed. The obstetrician is thereby enabled to listen to the fetal heart regardless of its location.

It is accordingly the principal object of this invention to provide a stethoscope of the character described which is adapted, by reason of its swivelly connected and mounted diaphragm housing, to reach any and all parts of the patients abdomen, irrespective of the patients position on the bed on which she lies. It follows of course, that the instrument is equally adaptable for use in other than obstetrical conditions and with respect to other than obstetrical patients. In many cases the patient is immobilized in :a position which precludes the application of a convention stethoscopic instrument. The stethoscope herein claimed will succeed where the conventional instrument fails.

It is accordingly another object of the present invention to provide a stethoscope which has greater ,yersatility than conventional stethosaan nd hich it sprin time martian at momiaener llm esataedian qina ina sst ls-it name of the instrument herein claimed is stethoscope and it may be used wherever the use of a conventional stethoscope is indicated, it may more specifically be termed a fetoscope as well as a "caudoscope because it is especially applicable for listening to the fetal heartbeat, particularly when the patient is in labor with caudal analgesia.

A further object of this invention is the provision of an attachment or accessory for conventional stethoscopes which adapts such stethoscopes for listening to the fetal heartbeat in the diilicult cases above mentioned. The attachment herein claimed is very readily attachable to conventional stethoscopes by simply removing the chest piece therefrom and substituting the attachment. The attachment may just as readily be removed from these conventional stethoscopes and the chest piece replaced thereon.

A preferred form of this invention is shown in the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of the entire instrument.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the attachment proper which may be mounted on a conventional stethoscope.

Fig. 3 is a side view thereof.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view therethrough, in enlarged, detailed form.

Fig. 5 is a plan view of the diaphragm housing.

Fig. 6 is a transverse section therethrough as well as a longitudinal section through the tubing on which it is mounted.

Fig. 7 is a side view of said diaphragm housing, showing part of the tubing on which it is mounted.

Fig. 8 is a front or face view of said diaphragm housing, showing the diaphragm and part of the tubing which supports the housing.

The instrument herein claimed includes the following conventional parts of a conventional stethoscope: ear pieces I0, metal tubing ll connected to said ear pieces, rubber tubing 12 com nected to the metal tubing, a Y-shaped tubular fitting I; which is generally made of metal and which is connected at its two upper ends torubber tubing l3, rubber, ,tubing fl which is connected .to the lower end of,said .;Y shaped,,fitting @2 9 11 eq al ng [.51 iw liillbipfilili t ifiil 'l fiii ii [fl a ainst-said l lbb toiii ilil M-aoii noimevni inc conventional s hcseonessseithwshithgrsepcri si sm blls glziihm qst msuis aqeuisei m fia all it lacks to complete it is a diaphragm housing, including a diaphragm. It is the attachment thereto, which is in substitution of a conventional diaphragm housing, that constitutes the invention forming the subject matter of the present application.

The attachment herein claimed includes a relatively long tubular arm 20 which is attached at one end to coupling I5. A substantially discshaped finger piece 2|, with opposed concave sides, is formed on said tubular arm, intermediate its ends. At the opposite end, tubular arm 20 is offset to form a loop 22 whose end portion 23 is disposed on a line which is intersected at right angles by theline on which the non-looped portion of the tubular arm lies. Swivelly mounted on end portion 23 of the tubular arm is the diaphragm housing 30. This diaphragm housing is substantially bell-shaped, being .closed at its upper smaller end and open at its lower larger end. A flanged ring 3| is screwed to the larger open end of the bell-shaped housing to hold the diaphragm 32 in its proper position across the opening of said larger end of the diaphragm housing.

" 'A 'small tapped hole 35 is formed in' the top 'ofsaidKbell-shaped housing, eccentrically thereof.l Transversely-extending end portion 23 of the tubulan arm extends "into the upper end of the bell-shaped housing'thro'ugh a centrally extend *ing holewhich is normal to thelongitudinal axis of said bell-shaped housing.

It will be'noted that an annular groove 3? is formed on saidinwardly extending portion of the tubular arm. It will also be noted that a thumb screw 38 having a tapered end 39 is threaded into tapped hole 35 to "the diaphragm housing to engage said groove enables the diaphragm housing to swivel about said end portion of the tubular arm virtually a "full360'. The only thing that stands in the way of a complete circling movement of the diaphrag-m housing relative to said end portion of the tubular arm is the engagement of ring 3i with loop portion 22 ofthe tubular arm. Housing 30 is enabled to swivel in either direction on tubular end portion 23 until its diaphragm holding ring 3i strikes the looped portion 22 of said tubular arm. See Figs. 7 and 8. Finger piece 2] is provided on the tubular arm to facilitate handling and manipulating said arm for the purpose of maneuvering the diaphragm housing into proper position relative to the .bodyof the patient.

"It will be apparent from the foregoing that the diaphragm housing may be clamped ,in virtu'ally every useful position on tubular arm 20.

It will, therefore, be clear that said diaphragm housing may be applied to virtually every part of the trunk of the human body, irrespective of theposition in which it may be encountered.

An extremely important feature ofthe present invention lies in the fact that the relationship between thed-iaphr'agm housing and the claim ,as' new 4 end portion of the tubular arm remains constant and unchanging regardless-of the angular position of said housing on said end portion. The reason is clear: said tubular end portion extends into the housing on a line which intersects the longitudinal axis of the housing, at right angles thereto. It is immaterial, therefore, what position the housing happens to occupy relative to said tubular end portion since the relationship of the longitudinal axis of said housing to said tubular end portion remains the same. Hence it is that the stethoscopic properties and qualities of the instrument remain constant, irrespective, of the, position inwhich the diaphragm h using is held- The several parts of the attachment last above described are made, preferably, of metal such as stainless steel. Other materials may be found to be equallynseful.

It :will be appreciated that the foregoing is descriptive of a preferred form of this invention and that :said form may be modified in various ways within the broad scope and spirit of the invention.

,Having thus described my invention, what I and-desire to secure by Letters 1. .A stethoscope of ,the character described comprising ear pieces, tubular sound ,conduits connect t sai ea p e a tubular s u en urt n a m conn cted to said condu t sa armhwin a end o w ch e tends at ri ht an l s to fih' Q ,g. 3ll al XiS o he a m and a d ap raemh p ine swi c'e ly c nnec ed to aid nd portion ii the tubula arm, a an ar g ove be g termed s d end po t on of t e ubu arerm an a screwh v ns a ta ered extens on en ng s id annu ar grow/.8 be provided i sa d dia hra m housi g where dis n agemen sai h usin fr m said-end portion, of the tubu ar. a m is prev nted and th housin may b c amp d in an s l cted an u a position about said end pQrtion of the tubular arm.

.2- .A stlm 'wi o the c aracter described m ri i ea ec s, tu ul r so nd condui connected ,to said ,ear pieces, a tubular soundonductin arm conne ted to sai -.c.o.n.du ts sa d am ha ing i oone snd p t on w i h extend across thelongitudina'l @Xis .of the arm at right a g es thereto, an .a bel ws a e aph h us hav ng a closed upper en a d an Open lower end, said bell-shaped housing having a hole to-receive thdend portion of the tubular arm at right angles to the ,longitudinal ,axis of sa dbell-shap d housing sa d t bu a .m ha ns an. an u r gr e a und its e d or andsaid housing being turnable on said end portion, means to prevent separation of said housingfrom-said tubular arm, ,said means comprisinga screw having a tapered end extending housing relative to the patient.

into said housing pa ralle l 7120 the axis thereof, d h n n e -fi tin en m n ith sa d annular-groove whereby to provide a clamping action against said end portion of the tubular arm to adjustably fix the angular position-of said diaphragm housing relative to said tubular arm.

3. A stethoscope in accordance with claim 2 in which the tubular arm is provided with a finger fpiece formedthereon intermediate its ends to facilitate turning and handling said tubular arm for properly positioning the diaphragm 4. A stethoscope attachment comprising a tubular sound-conducting arm having a looped end portion which extends across the longitudinal axis of the arm at right angles thereto and a bell-shaped diaphragm housing which is swivelly mounted on said end portion of the tubular arm for sWiVeIling movement about an axis which is normal to the longitudinal axis of the tubular arm, an annular groove being formed on said end portion of the tubular arm and a screw having a tapered extension being provided in said diaphragm housing for engagement with said annular groove to prevent disengagement of said diaphragm housing from said end portion of the tubular arm and to provide clamp- 1 ing engagement therebetween to adjustably fix the angular position of said diaphragm housing relative to said end portion of the tubular arm.

'WILFORD J. RATZAN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 19 Number Name Date 1,932,227 Pilling Oct. 24, 1933 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 28,534 Great Britain Aug. 20, 1914 351,743 Great Britain July 2, 1931 

